Grain free or doesn't matter unless allergies?

[Woffles]

For about 18 months my younger has been feeding my cat and taking care of her since till now I haven't been able to find a rental in my budget that would allow a cat. Now I finally have my cat back with me.
My sister thinks that grain is bad for cats and you should only feed them grain free food, and she has been feeding my cat (I was paying her back for the expenses, including worming etc.).
Since neither me or my sister are vets or scientists or dietitions, I have searched online for answers but I just find articles both for and against grain cat food.
Is it basically the same as with humans? Like, to a certain extent grain is bad for us humans, yet it remains a major part of humanities diets, all across the globe.
So I guess I want some pros and cons, and how dangerous it is to feed grain.
Though I love my cat, I'm on a kid's wage, paying rent, working part time so I don't exactly have money to buy the most expensive cat food, but I don't plan on buy her junk either. Thanks in advance

[fjm]

In general the more meat the better in cat food - cats are obligate carnivores, which means that unlike human omnivores (and even some other meat eaters like dogs) there are many essential amino acids etc that they cannot make themselves, and have to get from meat. Grains are cheap fillers to bulk up food - they are probably processed enough that your cat can at least partly digest them, and they won't poison her (although there have been tentative links to diabetes later in life), but nor do they supply optimal nutrition (and neither do potatoes, peas, or many of the other bulking agents). In general cats need to eat more of low quality foods to meet their needs - you may find a higher quality food comes out at the same cost as she needs less of it.

But the bottom line is to buy the best quality complete (not complementary) food that you can afford and she will eat - most cats thrive and live long and happy lives on commercial foods, even the supermarket brands!

If you tell us what country you live in I am sure PFers will be able to recommend some brands.

[Woffles]

Thanks fjm

I'm in Australia.

[Ruth B]

I can't help you with brands as I'm in the UK, but as fjm has said, cats are carnivores and humans are omnivores. We have evolved to eat and gain nourishment from a lot of different things, where as cats really only benefit from animal products. That being said they need the whole animal not just the prime cuts of meat which is why it can be tricky working out a good, balanced, raw meat diet for a cat. Cats really don't gain anything from all the added vegetable or grain matter that is added to most cat foods, it is there purely to bulk them out. However a lot of cats also enjoy eating so having a food that has been bulked out does mean they can spend a little more time feeding with out putting on the pounds.

I don't know about Australian cat foods but the general rule is that ones that are labeled 'complete' have all the necessary vitamins and minerals that a cat needs where as 'complementary' or 'supplementary' foods may be lacking in some things. Make sure they food has a high protein level (10-14% in wet food, 30 - 40% dried) and that meat and meat derivatives are high on the list of ingredients, don't be put off if there seems to be a load of additives these are often added to make sure that the cat gets all the essential trace elements etc they need.

Very occasionally cats can react to grain in their foods, wheat seems to cause the most problems, where as rice seems fairly well tolerated, but as long as your cat seems healthy and doesn't have any bowel issues (diarrhea or constipation are the normal signs) then grain isn't really a problem.

I know we have at least one other Australian on here, hopefully they will come on and be able to give more specific advice.

[Mollycat]

Grain isnt part of a cat's natural diet but grain free foods usually have some other filler like potato or sweet potato, which are also not part of a cat's natural diet. If you want to go as natural as possible then a balanced and well researched raw, or an off the shelf raw diet, is great but also has its drawbacks as protein load can over time put strain on the kidneys which are the cat's weak spot. On the other hand grain is thought to contribute to obesity and diabetes. Then again the rise in hyperthyroidism in cats may have a link with commercially prepared foods especially fish flavours. In the 7000 years the cat has been living among humans its gut has grown from 5ft to 7ft in length, an adaptation to a different diet to its wild diet, so we can't even really be sure the diet of its wild ancestors is the best.

There is no perfect diet, you kind of have to figure the pros and cons and make the best decision you can for you and your cats. Sorry to be so vague but really there are some really poor choices but many many decent choices available.